This invention relates generally to the type of roll baling machine that is capable of continuously forming roll bales of crop material while moving across a field without stopping to discharge such bales.
An example of this type of roll baling machine is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,035,999, assigned to the same assignee as the present application. The disclosed machine includes a lower apron and a pair of upper aprons. The upper aprons cooperate with the lower apron to define front and rear bale forming chambers. While a completed roll bale is being wrapped with twine and discharged from the rear chamber, another bale is started in the front chamber. When the bale started in the front chamber reaches a predetermined size, it is transferred to the rear chamber where it is completed. This provides for continuous baling operation of the machine.
A drawback of the machine disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,035,999 is that the distance a bale is transferred from the front chamber to the rear chamber is too great, thereby often resulting in damage to the bale during its transfer from the front to the rear chamber.
The above-mentioned drawback is overcome by providing an arrangement where a first upper apron cooperates with the lower apron to define the front chamber while a second upper apron cooperates with the first upper apron to define the rear chamber. This arrangement significantly reduces the bale transfer distance between the front and rear chambers. An arm assembly is provided to support part of the second upper apron, and the arm assembly is rotatable from a first position when the rear chamber is empty to a second position during formation of a bale in the rear chamber.
According to the present invention, control means are provided for holding the arm assembly in its second position while a bale is being discharged from the rear chamber. In the preferred embodiment, this control means includes a link member having a lost motion connection with the arm assembly as the arm assembly moves between its first and second positions.